Mural on the Move (Slide Show)

Workers from Jutras Sign Inc. remove the mural from its longtime home on a wall in St. Mary’s Bank’s

The nation’s oldest credit union has donated a piece of its history to a local museum as it makes its move into new headquarters.

The $776 million St. Mary’s Bank in Manchester, N.H., donated the lobby mural to the Manchester Historic Association which will then place it on long-term loan to the American-Canadian Genealogical Society for display in its building, the organizations said.

The mural has been in the 105-year-old credit union’s McGregor Street lobby since that facility opened in 1970. That facility will be demolished now that that St. Mary’s Bank has moved into new quarters next door.

The work, by an unknown artist, depicts Samuel De Champlain and the early settlers on the banks of the Merrimack River. Its text is French, reflecting the cultural heritage of the nation’s first credit union, which was founded in 1908 to meet the needs of the largely French-speaking West Side community, the 86,100-member credit union said.

Next: Merrimack's early settlers

Here is the mural showing explorer Samuel De Champlain and early settlers along the Merrimack River. Standing to the right of the photo is Jeff Barraclough of the Manchester Historic Association.

Next: To a New Home

The frame is removed as the murual is made ready to move to a new home on the walls of the nearby American-Canadian Genealogical Society.